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New oilsands project gets green light from first nations

THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Teck Resources Limited

FORT MCMURRAY, AB – A British Columbia based company proposing the $20 billion Frontier Oil Sands mine near Fort McMurray, said it has signed deals with all of the Indigenous groups located near the northern Alberta mega-project.

Teck Resources announced the signings Monday as joint federal-provincial review hearings began for the project in Fort McMurray.

If approved, the company said Frontier would create thousands of jobs and pump over $70 billion into government coffers over the expected 41 year lifespan of the oilsands mine.

The hearings are being held before a joint review panel of the Alberta Energy Regulator and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

Teck Resources (TSX:TECK) has said oil production at the 260,000 barrel-per-day Frontier site won't take place until 2026 at the earliest.